OLEAtool: An open-source software for morphopalynological research in Olea europaea L. pollen

TL;DR

OLEAtool is a new software tool that helps researchers analyze Olive pollen more efficiently and accurately.

Contribution

OLEAtool introduces a faster and more replicable method for morphological analysis of Olea europaea L. pollen.

Findings

OLEAtool improves the speed of data collection for pollen grain analysis.

The tool expands the range of measurable variables in morphological studies.

It enhances the replicability of morphological analysis in palynological research.

Abstract

In this paper we present OLEAtool, a new software tool for palynological research to facilitate morphological analysis and measurements of
Olea pollen. OLEAtool is a macro extension for use with ImageJ, an open-access and freely available image analysis software, and was developed as a component of the OLEA-project. This larger project examines olive tree expansion and mosaic landscape formation on the Balearic Islands. Pollen analysis of both fossil and modern grains has been proven useful for characterizing cultivars and therefore an important method for studying olive tree cultivation in the Mediterranean. However, these methods still struggle with distinguishing between wild and cultivated varieties. Traditional morphological analysis of pollen grains can be a difficult and time-consuming task. However, OLEAtool dramatically increases the speed of collecting data on pollen grains, expands the number of variables an analyst can measure, and greatly enhances the replicability of morphological analysis.

Figures